iMentor a pregnant teen
by perFANfection
Summary: After finding herself pregnant and becoming a teen mom, Carly is recruited by principal Franklin as a good mentor match for currently pregnant freshman, Ellie. But when Ellie struggles with the ideals of adoption and potentially being removed from her foster home, Carly steps up and helps Ellie find her path to success while balancing her own life struggles and twists.
1. Chapter 1

**Carly's POV**

"C'mon Sam, you're joking."

"No, I'm not. And if you don't take the blame, I'm gonna get suspended or worse, and if that happened I would be in so much trouble! You know, if I had a parent that cared."

"Sam," I whine.

"Carls please, maybe they'll just make you do community service stuff or something for your first time."

"This is not my first time taking the blame for you! And what about..."

Just then, I hear my name get called to the office and I burn Sam a look.

"Don't do anything while I'm gone."

"Yes mother." She replies sarcastically.

She shrugs and I leave. Soon I walk into Principal Franklin's office.

"Principal Franklin?"

"Sit Carly." He says warmly.

"What is this about? I'm not in trouble, am I? Because what ever Sam did she didn't mean it and she's sorry from the both of us."

"No, no. And when you see Sam, tell her she's suspended."

"Oh my gosh, really?"

"No, I'm just messing with you! What I really called you here for is so we could talk about a new program that offers mentors for teen moms."

"No thanks, I really don't think..."

"Oh no, not for you. We actually want you to be a mentor."

"Oh, I don't know."

"Why not? I hear from plenty of other peers that you're a great mom. I think it would be good for you to connect and not to mention, of you do this, I might be able to let Sam's little incident slide."

"That's nice of you but I really think Sam should learn herself and..."

"And I'll write a letter of recommendation to the college of your choice."

"Well okay, I guess. That would be great!"

"Okay, I'll bring her on Monday around three."

"Okay, thanks Principal Franklin."

I get up to leave and he smirks.

"Oh and Carly, tell Sam I'd like to talk."

"Okay,"

I hear him chuckle as I leave the office. That's how I knew he had something planned for Sam that she wouldn't like.

 **Sam's POV**

"So he wasn't trying to trick me? I'm not in trouble?"

Carly's daughter Megan, walks over to me with her doll in her hand. She's only one, and she can't yet talk enough to tell Carly what happened last time I babysat. The new bad thing I did had distracted her from what I did last weekend to Megan's stuff.

"No, but I'm gonna make you babysit when Lance and I go out on Saturday. I'm punishing you."

"Carls,"

"No, and Monday after school too."

"Why? Haven't I learned enough from all my Tuesdays with that one therapist?"

"Obviously not because you're still doing bad things! Anyway, I have to meet up with a teen mom I'll be mentoring."

"Wait, why can't Freddie babysit?"

"Because he's at the aggressive parenting meeting with his mom! Besides, he's her dad, so he has her every other weekend anyway."

"Ughhh!"

"Just for an hour!"

"I have detention after school."

"No you don't. Don't you remember I saved your sorry butt?"

"Doesn't mean I still can't get detention! Carls, bring her with you!"

"Yeah, well tomorrow or Monday you won't."

"Uggghhh!" I shout.

Just then Megan whines then gets up from the floor, and walks into the kitchen chairs. She cries and Carly picks her up.

"See, your poor attitude is contagious." She grumbles.

Carly goes upstairs and puts Megan to bed so we can do our iCarly special. It was going to be our first iCarly since Megan was born. Carly doesn't talk to me again until I agree to babysit.

 **Carly's POV**

In the course of a Saturday night, Sam managed to set the oven on fire, send Megan's blanket plummeting down an eight story building, and injure Gibby with a TV remote when he tried to help her.

Today, it's 3:04 pm and I'm anxiously waiting for Principal Franklin and the girl I'll be mentoring.

"Hi Carly, sorry we're late. But someone was refusing to come."

He nods to the girl next to him. She's short, with dark hair and dark eyes, and a looks fairly young, possibly only a freshman. She stared back at me and slowly her scowl became a small smile, and I got up to introduce myself.

"Oh sorry, my name's Ellie. " She says quietly, making a conscious effort to make up for the bad first impression.

"I guess I'll leave you girls alone. Good luck." He whispers the last part to me.

Ellie looks nervously around and after he's gone, plays shyly with her fingers.

"So Ellie, when is your baby due?" I ask, trying to break the ice.

"May 28." She says shortly, looking away.

"That's good, so you're like five months? Do you and the baby's dad know what you're having?"

"Um yeah, I do, but the baby's dad left when he found out I was pregnant."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know."

"Its okay, he was sorta a player. Like he always just used me for, you know..."

Ellie looks away and I hand her a tissue, then she continues.

"Yeah and my parents said if I don't put the baby up for adoption, I can't come back home after she's born. I mean, they aren't even gonna come to the hospital with me."

She starts crying and I lean over to pat her back. I feel for her because at first, I wasn't sure about telling Lance I had a daughter or how he'd react.

"Ellie, don't worry. And um, maybe I could be there with you if you wanted?"

"Would you really? I mean, we just sorta met."

"I wouldn't mind. It's not like I haven't been through the horrors of childbirth before."

She smiles.

"Okay, now I'm kinda scared."

"You'll do great, I mean, sometimes some of the best things come from pain. My friend Freddie got hit by a taco truck once and all the girls gave him attention for like a week."

She laughs and we hug. I can feel her sigh and I can tell she feels a little more confident about herself now.

"Thanks Carly." She says.

I give her my number and tell her to text or call me if she needs me. Her brown eyes gleam back at me, and I can see the years of hurt inside. I wish she would tell me more.

 **Ellie's POV**

Let me introduce myself better. My name is Ellie, even though my grandma always used to call me Eleanor.

I'm only fifteen, even though the baby's daddy is seventeen. He and I both come from foster homes. My real mom had me when she was fourteen and my dad was put in prison because he was nineteen when he was with her.

By the time I was five, mom was already so far gone, with alcohol abuse and all that, that my grandparents took me in, and a few years later, my mom was put into a rehab center. My grandparents died when I was twelve, then I was placed in a foster home because no one in my family wanted to raise a child with a bad beginning to life, like it was my fault.

Flash forward about three years. That's where I am today. Fifteen, pregnant, and basically my foster parents warning to leave is like a nine month eviction notice. But they've been so kind already and eventually I would get kicked out when I was eighteen anyway, so I just hope they come around and let me stay my last few years here.

 **Sam's POV**

Carly and I were sleeping in the iCarly studio, in the beanbags. Carly finally had Megan asleep and we put in a movie, but fell asleep soon after. But I wake up again when Carly's phone is ringing right next to my ear. I roll over and shake her.

"Carly wake up!" I mumble.

She rolls over and I shove her phone into her hand. Then rolling back over, I attempt to fall back asleep.

"Hello?" She mumbles lazily, weary with sleepiness.

"Is it her?" I mouth, rolling over.

"Ellie, what's wrong? " She asks, answering my question.

I roll back over and put my sweatshirt over my head. This isn't the first time in the last month that Ellie's known Carly that she's called in the middle of the night.

Carly finally hangs up and yanks the sweatshirt off my face.

"Sam, get up! Ellie thinks she's having a miscarriage and she needs me to bring her to the hospital."

"Doesn't anyone over at her house ever think of bringing her?"

"She's alone tonight. She would've come over but someone..."

"Yeah yeah, I know." I say annoyed.

Carly gets up and throws the baby monitor in my lap.

" You're babysitting. If she gets up, you will rock her back to sleep. Please do not wake her." She pleas firmly and concerned.

 **Freddie's POV**

"Mom, there was no strange man in the dumpsters! Those were hobos."

"They're filthy and you could get diseases!" She yells worriedly.

I slam my bedroom door. It's the middle of the night and I'm again fighting with my mom about the dangers of night times.

As I am about to turn off my lights, my phone buzzes and it's Sam.

" _Hey Sam_ ,"

" _Hey Freddicus_."

" _It's late. What could you have possibly done bad, and no, I'm not bailing you out_."

" _Um no. Actually you might wanna get over here. Carly's gone and the kid's crying._ "

" _Why can't you take care of her?"_

 _"She's not my responsibility!" She argues._

 _"Carly left you in charge. You're the babysitter."_

 _"You're her dad! Now get over here. Spencer's not here either and you're my only backup up plan before I put this kid in a soundproof box."_

She hangs up and I slip on my shoes. I have no choice but to help her.

"Sam?" I ask as I walk in.

"Over here Freddifries!"

She hands me Megan and I sit next to her on the couch. Sam soon falls asleep next to me and I find myself putting Megan to sleep. Again after that I look over and Sam's sleeping still, I think.

"Sam , I'm leaving. I put her in her play crib." I whisper cautiously, to see if she is really asleep.

"Freddie," She looks up wearily and grabs my arm.

"You so much as slam that door and wake her, I swear I'll mess you up!"

She yanks me toward her, harder then she must've intended because our faces are just inches apart. I can feel my heart pounding furiously through and against my chest.

"I guess, we both need sleep." She says, and lets go of my arm.

Our faces, still inches apart, don't look away or move. I can smell mint on her breath, her breathing making our tension greater. We both laugh, then next thing I know, her lips are pressed against mine, and I'm moving one hand, vigorously exploring over her while my other holds her head. It lasts about twenty seconds before either one of us pulls away.

"Um," She mutters awkwardly.

"Yeah. That was, yeah." I clear my throat and back up. We silently look around for a few moments.

"I'd better go." I say finally.

"Yeah, get out." Clearly embarrassed, she waves her hand at me.

"Goodnight."

"Yeah, whatever." She says.

 **Carly's POV**

Walking through the front door quietly since it's still morning, I find Sam on the couch and Megan in her pack and fold crib.

"Morning pork chops." I say, shaking Sam awake.

"Where?" She asks, springing up.

"No, there's none. I'm home!"

"Hey. How's Ellie?"

"Um fine. It was just a scare, or Ellie being Ellie. But she and the baby are fine."

"That's great." She says, shifting her attention to the TV as she turns it on.

"So how did it go last night?"

"Huh?" She says quickly, but this time not as a lazy reply.

"Any little secrets?" I hint jokingly.

"No. And if there was, you couldn't prove anything!"

"C'mon on Sam, I talked to Freddie."

"That Fredbag told you?" She gets fired up.

"I don't see what the problem is. Everyone gets lonely sometimes."

"He told you I needed him to come over for company? That's all?"

"That's all? What, is there supposed to be more to him being over here? It's not like you guys... no!"

"What?"

"You didn't, fadoodle?" I wink at her.

"Carly no, that's crazy! Ew."

"Okay, I know, I know! I'm just messing with you!"

She stares at me blankly, then smiles. Then looking over to the crib, I point to Megan.

"Was she okay?"

"Yeah, but she wouldn't stop crying when she first woke up."

"Yeah, I think she's getting another tooth. So what did you do to calm her?"

She doesn't answer so I walk over to the crib and look inside. Pulling out one of Spencer's hammer's from beneath the blanket, I hold it up and gesture it toward Sam, sighing loudly.

"Sam, I told you not to! How many times do I have to tell you? Hammers are not for children, hobos, or the elderly! And why a hammer when she's getting another tooth? They're hard!"

"You have a kid and now you think you're some expert on what kids can put in their mouths or eat?!" Sam asks jokingly.

Picking Megan up and putting her to rest on my shoulder, I head upstairs to put her in toddler bed.

"My mom fed me coffee in a bottle!" She shouts after me.

As I'm climbing up the stairs I mumble something I intentionally want her to hear.

"I hope you and Freddie enjoyed each others company last night because you two are babysitting again on Monday."

 **Sam's POV**

"Sup Fredbag." I say, as he walks past my locker.

"Hola Samosa." He exchanges.

He stands next to me, like he has something to show me or say.

"What are you smiling for, dooface?" I ask.

"Carly's so naive and oblivious to everything." He says amused.

"So is that how you got her to have your kid?" I ask, even more amusingly.

"Sam, that's not funny!"

"Yeah, she's not that oblivious." Gibby says, as he walks by.

"Wait, she talked to you, didn't she?" He asks, suddenly curious.

"Are you admitting to me that you told Carly that we kissed?"

"No, I'm saying the opposite."

"Then how does she know we... she doesn't know, does she? What did you really tell her?"

"That I enjoyed your company playing board games on Saturday night." He smiles proudly.

"I hate board games! I'm pretty sure she knows that!"

Carly then walks up and smiles at us.

"What do I know?" She asks.

"I've gotta go, my mom's outside." Freddie suddenly says nervously.

Freddie leaves and I'm left alone with Carly who is smirking at me.

"What?" I say.

"Oh my gosh!"

"What?" I ask again, getting frustrated.

"Oh nothing. Liar!" She says nonchalantly.

"What!" I ask surprised.

She looks around then hushes her voice.

"You like him." She nudges me.

"And..." I say sarcastically.

"Is or was there more happening on Saturday than just games?"

"What? I can't hear you over all this vomit coming up! "

I start walking out and Carly shouts after me.

"Sam you can't bury your feelings in denial, or ham!"

"I'm gonna try!"

She shouts after me again.

"You don't have to babysit tonight?!"

I don't even turn around as I leave the front doors but instead just wave okay.

 **Carly's POV**

Ellie and I are sitting in Principle Franklin's office for the fifth time since we've met. She and I are joking and laughing, as Ellie holds Megan on her lap.

"Sam, really did that?" Ellie laughs.

"Yeah. But she punches harder with her left, even though she's right handed. I think they were surprised."

"Oh my gosh! I'm the total opposite; I throw things harder with my right but I'm left handed. But i've never punched anybody so..." She laughs.

"Well, Sam does have a prison record."

"Impressive." She agrees.

"Yeah, not really." I laugh, as I disagree.

Ellie moves uncomfortably, trying to support the weight of her seven month pregnancy comfortably. Megan then jumps down from her lap and sits on the floor, playing with the strings of Ellie's boots.

"You're gonna make a great mom some day , you know that? I mean, Sam has no patience to tolerate that."

I nod to Megan playing with the shoes and laugh while Ellie blushes shyly.

"I grew up in a foster home with eight other children, two older and six younger. So children aren't exactly strange."

"What's that like?" I ask.

"Oh very busy, never a dull moment."

"If you don't mind me asking,what about moving from home to home? Isn't that hard?"

"You get used to it. I mean, you never really wanna get comfortable with any foster parents because by the time you get to know them, they have you changing homes."

She looks away, and I hear her breath like there's a lump in her throat, the kind you get when you're about to cry. I reach over and grab her hands, forcing her to look up.

"I got really close with my recent foster parents. You know, before I got knocked up." She mumbles the last part quietly.

"Ellie that's terrible. You shouldn't think of this that way. Nobody " knocked you up"."

"No, it's a name they give girls or women who don't plan their pregnancies or get pregnant with from a one night stand. Face it, I'm knocked up, and the dad left me. It's pathetic!"

She sobs hard, letting go of my hands to wipe her face and push her hair behind her ears.

"How about we go after school tomorrow and talk to them. Tell them how you feel."

"I don't know."

"C'mon, that's why I'm here to be your friend and encourage you. And how hard can it be? You already told them you're pregnant. The hardest part is over."

She smiles and laughs, looking up.

"Um, what about labor?" She laughs.

"Yeah, but don't worry about that. I'll be there for you then too, but I want to be here now also."

She smiles and grabs my hand, placing it to her stomach.

"She's kicking, do you feel that?" She exclaims, smiling greatly with amusement.

"It's crazy, right?"

"Yeah." She laughs.

 **Spencer's POV**

"Hey Spence." Carly says, as she drops her keys and bag in the chair.

"Hey, how'd it go with Ellie?"

"Good. Well, as well as expected with a hormonal seven- month pregnant fifteen year old."

"Let that be a lesson."

"Lesson for what? I already had a baby."

"Oh right. So are you going out with your boy'friend' Lance tonight?" I tease.

"Um no, he's busy, actually out of town."

"He's always gone."

"Yeah, he's been a busy boy."

Carly avoids my eyes as she nervously plays with her bag strap.

"Everything alright kiddo?"

"Y...yeah, why wouldn't it be?" She stutters nervously.

"There's nothing you wanna talk about?"

"No, I'm fine." She exclaims, unconvinced herself.

"You're not pregnant, are you?"

"No!"

"Oh thank goodness!"

"I mean Lance and I had never even done more than kiss even though just about everyone around us, even our CLOSEST friends who you trust with your baby and-"

"Carls calm down! Why are you so worked up?"

"Sam and Freddie kissed, again. And they did it the night Sam was supposed to be babysitting Megan! Freddie told me I can't tell Sam he told me because she'd kill him, and so he lied to Sam that he told me that they just played board games and helped with Megan, and I've been hinting around to Sam but she doesn't get them!"

"Carls, don't you think Sam would've told you already if she wanted you to know? I mean, you're best friends."

"Yeah I guess,but I'm still kinda hurt that I had to hear it from the father of my child, not Sam."

She grabs Megan from playing silently on the floor, and holds her hand.

"It's late. I'm gonna go do some homework after I put her to bed."

She starts to head upstairs when I see her book bag lying on on the chair. I pick it up to hand it to her and push a box that was falling out back inside.

"Um Carly, your bag."

I hand it to her, and she starts to leave but I grab her shoulder, turning her half way around.

"You sure there's nothing else you wanna talk about?"

She turns around fully, her eyes starting to tear up as she stares back at me. I clear my throat and reach for the box that is once again peering out out of her overflowing bag. Pulling it partly out, she stares back at me in horror.

"This was um, falling out." I say nonchalantly, tucking it back in as she relaxes.

"Look Spencer,I'm really stressed out and Megan and Ellie are being so needy! I know that sounds horrible and I love them both to death but I really need break." She adds.

"There's no break from being a mother or good friend. Remember that."

"Okay, thanks?" She says nervously.

She starts to head upstairs when she pauses and turns back around, skipping a step.

"Spencer," She sobs suddenly.

"I'm late." I could hear the fear in her voice as she finishes her sentence, and she throws herself against me, wrapping me in a hug, as I once again pull the pink pregnancy test box out of her bag.

 **Freddie's POV**

"Carly, you can't be pregnant!"

"Well that's the thing Freddie! How could I possibly be pregnant when you said..."

"I know what I said! Ugh! How could you be pregnant?!"

"That's the funny thing about this Freddie! You're asking me how, when you were fully involved in my getting pregnant!"

She paces back and forth, making stressful facial expressions and gestures with her arms.

"We can't raise a child! We aren't mature enough!"

"Says the guy who talked me into it!" She snaps.

"Carly, what are we gonna do?"

"Well what can we do? Do you think or are you suggesting adoption?"

"Not really, but I don't see how we could raise a child."

"Oh gosh, what's Spencer gonna say?" She whimpers.

She starts crying and collapses herself onto the bed. Sliding over, I wrap her into a side hug and squeeze.

"Freddie, i'm too young and terrified to be a mom!" She whimpers quietly.

"Age isn't what makes us parents. We could still make this work, I guess."

"Yeah, but I don't think I could be mother material yet. And I don't really think we have the ideal money and living situation for a child. I mean, this little human inside me is gonna need on you and on me."

"We can make this work!" I reassure her.

"But how?" She demands.

"I don't know, but trust me, we're gonna love this baby."

"So could another couple, Freddie! With better housing and stability and-"

"And we could be capable of that too if you and I got jobs." I suggest.

"Freddie, I don't know. I'm scared."

"I love you." I say as she snuggles into me, tears staining her flushed face.

 _"Freddie? Are you there?"_

Jolting from my daydream, and hearing Carly anxiously waiting, I clear my throat and mumble a "yes" after missing most of what she's said.

" _Anyway, I'm stressing about Ellie's visit to the adoptive parents next week and how she'll feel. Do you think she'll be able to handle all this?"_

" _Um sure."_

" _I'm really worried about her."_

" _She'll be fine."_ I say, unconvinced myself.

" _How do you know? Have you pushed a watermelon out of you for someone else before?"_

" _I don't know how to answer that."_

She sighs frustrated, obviously not hearing what she wants to hear and I'm unsure how to help her.

" _Carly, why'd you really call?"_

" _Huh?"_

" _Well this talking doesn't seem to be working."_

" _It's nothing."_

" _Really?"_

" _Yes. Gosh, you're so pushy."_ She grumbles.

Suddenly I hear noise in the background, and the muffling of her phone.

" _Freddie I have to go. Sam's here."_

" _Can you at least tell me what's wrong?"_

" _No, because it probably doesn't concern you."_

" _Carly,"_

" _I'm just a little late, that's all. But i'm sure it's because of all this stress. Don't worry."_

She hangs up and i'm left clueless except for a general thought that sends a chill up my spine. I haven't heard the words, "I'm late." since she got pregnant with Megan. Could it be she was pregnant again but with Lance's baby?

 **Sam's POV**

"Carly it's not a big deal!"

"It's totally a big deal!"

"People do this all the time!"

"Yeah, but normally not seventeen year olds, and usually not twice!"

"Carly go!"

I shove her towards the bathroom and she closes the door behind her. Pacing back and forth, this feels all too familiar. Eventually I hear the bathroom door click and she slowly opens the door.

"Sam, what if it's positive? How could this happen again? This is serious! I lied to Spencer and told him Lance and I never did anything."

"Relax, there's probably a fifty- fifty chance you're not."

She burns me a look, letting me know how bad the timing of the joke was. Soon she disappears back into the bathroom and calls out for me.

"Sam?" Her voice quivers.

Walking in, I shut the door behind me and stand in the bathroom, my arm around Carly's as she turns over the answer.

 **Carly's POV**

Ellie and I are sitting in the bean bag chairs of the iCarly studio, enjoying what could be our last time together before the baby arrives. Ellie is eating the ice cream we bought on the way over, but as she laughs, it spills over her large belly.

"Oh, i'm such a clutz." She smiles, as she rubs it off.

"So are you ready?" I ask.

"Oh no, i'm really nervous. I haven't slept these past few weeks and to be honest, my foster parents are being hard on me. You know, as we get closer to the adoption."

"Don't be. The pain is only the first step to meeting your baby. And you're doing a great thing for your baby."

"Actually i've chosen to let the parents hold her first thing. We've kinda had an agreement that I wouldn't see or hold her after she's born because i'm afraid i'll back out even though that's kinda what I want. For the baby to be adopted."

"Ellie, that's gotta be hard to think about."

"Well sure, and I would love to hold her. But the love I would feel for her at that moment still wouldn't change the fact that I can't take care of her . The time holding her would be great, but even with everything I would feel, taking her home would become a responsibility. This baby deserves a chance at life and I want no regrets. Of course I still do love her, but it makes the adoption easier if I don't see her. That way there are no hard feelings and I won't feel guilty for doing the right thing."

She smiles, reassuring me she's okay with this, even though it kinda probably hurts to talk about.

"Hey," Sam says as she walks in.

"Hey Sam." Ellie says.

"Hey." I say.

"Sorry, I didn't know Ellie was here. But since she is… did you guys both wanna go to the smoothie with me?"

We agree and helping Ellie up, she moans and mutters something under her breath.

"What was that?" I ask.

"N...nothing. This baby just is starting to feel real heavy."

She smiles reassuringly and waddles out the door, with Sam and me behind her.

"Carls, you know she's like nine months, right?" Sam asks.

"Yeah, so?"

"You don't think bringing her somewhere is a bad idea? I mean, things happen."

"Things? What things?"

Sam motions her hand outwards and points down, making a whooshing sound to symbolize her water breaking.

"Oh Sam, grow up." I say, nudging her out the door.

 **Spencer's POV**

Hearing a knock at the door, I drop my talking Spencer doll and dart in a hopping motion towards the door.

"Oh, hey Freddie. Sam and Carly took Ellie to the smoothie. You could meet them there if you wanted."

"Uh no. I came here to talk to you."

"Oh. Did you do anything illegal?"

"No…"

"Then sit down."

He sits and looks nervously around, playing with his hands.

"Spencer, I know it's not my place, but I don't think Carly should be with Lance." He says.

"She's not. Don't you know what happened?"

"No, what?!" He asks, suddenly curious.

"Carly dumped him out of nowhere, then asked him out again after he got hit by a car."

"Oh,so they like are or aren't…"

I smile and shake my head. Freddie obviously confused, shrugs his shoulders at me, then finally gets I'm joking.

"You don't really know, do you?" I ask.

"No…" He sighs.

"Well maybe I should leave that up to Carly to tell you. But promise me not to ask Carly until all this stuff with Ellie passes over, okay?"

He nods and stands up, making his way to the door.

"Night Spencer." He says.

"Night kiddo."

 **Carly's POV**

It's after nine and somehow Sam, Freddie, Ellie and I all ended up at the smoothie together. Sam is next to Ellie and i'm across from her, but next to Freddie. Ellie, sighing loudly, tucks her chin into her hand.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, i'm just really uncomfortable." She mutters, stirring her smoothie with her straw.

"Did you wanna go home?"

"Yeah, i'd better."

Getting up and walking around, Sam and I help her up and I link my arm around hers to help walk her out. But before we can even move, Ellie's began to grip the table and lean forwards uncomfortably. Looking down at the same time, Ellie, Sam and I realize that her water had just broken. Thinking quickly, Sam throws Freddie's smoothie on the floor to cover it.

"Aw Freddie! Look what you did!" She yells, casting the blame to Freddie.

When T-bo walks over to investigate and yell at Freddie, Sam and I use that chance to get out of there and take Ellie over to the hospital.

 **Ellie's POV**

"Carly?" I mutter groggy from sleep.

She looks over and me from the couch in my hospital room, with Sam sleeping on her lap.

"Yeah Ellie?" She asks.

"I can't do this. We should go."

I begin unhooking the straps around my stomach and Carly gets up and shakes her head, laying me back down, then sitting next to me on the bed.

"What's wrong?"

"Carly, I can't get over the horrible thought of something going wrong. Or not knowing how to do this or…"

"Ellie, you're body already knows what to do."

"Carly, I haven't felt the baby move in half an hour. I don't even think i've had another contraction since we've got here."

Suddenly she looks concerned and walks over to shake Sam awake, whispering for her to go get someone, but to look calm. Soon I have a nurse in my room, making me do all sorts of crazy things, in hopes that she'll see the baby move.

"Ellie, you're not in active labor and it could be awhile. Why don't you and your friends go for a walk and we'll start some stuff to get this moving."

More time passes, labor finally intensifying with every hour, and soon I'm on the floor, leaning forward against the bed, trying to ease the pain. And though I have not felt her kick, I hear her heartbeat reassuringly. The nurses all tell me to rest, that she'll be here soon, but I can't. Looking over to Carly, I see her spacing out.

"Carly," I call for her attention, then motion for her to over.

Breathing in between contractions, I want to get up from my position so that I could lay back down. Carly gets up to help me, wrapping one hand around my arm and another on my back for support, pulling me up, then she sits back down.

"You okay?"

"No, I'm scared crapless...And I can't help but worry how much it hurts."

My tone of voice reflects my anxiety of this whole thing, and the sharpness of it catches Carly by surprise. I was beginning to become unwillingly irritable after more than fourteen hours of seemingly endless pain. Carly's caring tone of voice shows that she's trying to be patient with me.

"Ellie, don't think about that. Think about the good that comes from the pain. Remember when I told you about Freddie and that taco truck?"

"Yeah, and that's great for Freddie! But I'm choosing to let my baby be adopted."

"And that's the good that's gonna come out of this; you making a decision on what's best for the baby. And I'll be here, and you'll know during all this that the baby will have amazing parents. "

"Yeah and I guess I know that. But still even a part of me wishes she was ours to hold, even though I know that would probably be selfish. I just wanna be sure this is what's best for her and I am."

I smile at the last part reassuringly, relieved to finally be able to be confident in my decision.

"Hey, sometimes it's normal to feel this way. It's also important that you feel like you've made a good choice for your baby and for yourself by choosing adoption."

Carly sits next to me by the bed, smiling back reassuringly.

"Hey- ow... ow, ow!" I groan suddenly, reaching out for Carly's hand to squeeze.

I roll to my side in pain right as the nurse walks in and I let go of Carly's hand to squeeze the bed posts with mine.

"Ow- when can this be over?" I whimper, uncomfortably.

My contractions are now just minutes closer, a change from twelve minutes apart when we first got here, now almost fifteen hours ago.

"Ellie, we have the adoptive parents coming in for the birth. Would that be alright?" The nurse asks.

I look over to see Clara and Benji waiting in the doorway, smiling. They already told me it was my choice, but deciding it would be best, I decided to let them in since it was soon to be their baby.

Surging pain wracks every nerve in my body, and my legs are growing weary from being held in the air. I've only been pushing for a few minutes now, but in this kind of pain, it feels like an eternity. Exhaling and laying back, I feel ready to give up and start to cry, my clammy hand already losing its grip to Carly's.

"I can't do this." I moan, wishing I wouldn't have been so stubborn and afraid to get an epidural.

"Yes you can." Carly squeezes my hand.

Moaning deeply through another contraction, I take the liberty to try again, but frustrated, I lie back once more. For another hour I continue to push, and after an eternity of what feel like pushing an cantaloupe through an oval hole, the baby's head appears.

"Push Ellie!" Carly screams encouragingly.

"I can't!"

"C'mon, you've come this far!"

"Then why don't you take over, skunk bag!"

"She doesn't mean that!" Carly assures the parents and she's probably right.

"One more Ellie!" Clara says, not sounding promising.

Tensing my muscles once again, I push hard, holding my breath and feeling it circulate in my chest. Feeling a sudden pressure, then a popping relief, I finally hear my baby cry and I lie back, trying to take it all in. The doctor hands the baby to the parents and I feel my heart drop in my chest even though I knew what I was doing was right.

Carly looks at me and smiles, telling me everything is fine and squeezing my hand reassuringly.

"You did good hun." Clara whispers as she wipes my tears and matted hair from my face.

"Thank you Ellie. We couldn't put it into words how thankful we are for her and for you." Benji gushes of his daughter, and I see his eyes gleam at her.

"Um, of course." I whisper unsurely, and smile at Benji.

"She'll be fine. You did a good thing." Carly reassures me, noticing the look of hurt and tears on my face.

"I know. And I guess if she wasn't meant to be my blessing, she should be someone else's. I'm just happy I chose to do this."

Despite a wave of slight jealousy, I manage to smile, still wishing the baby was my own to hold. She had a home now and I knew I did the right thing when the parents continued to hold and kiss her tight, giving her the love I could never provide her in my own foster home, and it made me smile.

They named her Maisie Gaines, literally right before they left the hospital. Seeing them leave with her was the hardest yet most reassuring moment of my life, but I was ready to settle in with a fresh new start when Carly took me home that evening.

"Carly, this is for you." I say, handing her a letter of three long pages. She sets it down after reading and cries, pulling me into a hug, and contagiously spreads her tears to me, causing me to cry uncontrollably.

"Thank-you Carly."

"No problem. Having you around was like having a little sister, rather than having to always babysit my best friend." She laughs.

"And we can always talk about anything, even though i'm not pregnant anymore?"

"Anything . Even boyfriends?" She teases.

"That would be fun."

Smiling, Carly turns and leaves, waving goodbye for what felt like the first real time.

 **Carly's POV**

"Hey kid, you look uh…" Spencer starts.

"Hey, easy there Texas. I haven't showered in two days. "

"I know. You did a good thing kid."

"Yeah, I guess. I really like Ellie, and I feel like she's gonna be more independent now. You know she's pretty wise for her age."

"She did a great thing for her baby, and it seemed like she knew that, even if she still had some doubts." Spencer agrees.

Hugging Spencer, he pushes me off of him, smelling my few day old tank and jeans. I start to head up the stairs but turn around, stopping midway on the steps.

"Spencer," My voice wavers.

"Yeah kid?"

Throwing myself into him, tears streaking my face, Spencer motions for me to sit down.

"Carly,"

I say nothing, allowing Spencer to speak, but he doesn't move.

"You know, don't you?" I finally ask.

He nods and I sigh relieved.

"You're not pregnant, are you." He confirms.

"No." I say softly.

I snuggle up into him and he puts his arm around me and squeezes in a brotherly way. Then looking at me, he suddenly gets serious.

"So have you talked to Freddie yet? Especially now since you know you're not pregnant."

"No, I didn't think it was the right time. I just broke up with Lance and I wasn't sure if I was pregnant."

"Now is as good a time as any other. Don't blow you shot at getting him. He loves you, and won't stop, even if he finds someone else. But he won't know you love him back unless you say so. "

Smiling in agreement then standing up from the couch, I walk over and to Megan, who is sleeping in the chair, and lift her up, resting her head on my quietly stirs in her sleep and looks up at me briefly. I cover her up, then start to take her up the stairs.

"You, me and daddy are gonna be family again." I whisper to her and smile as I head up the stairs.

Putting her in bed then picking up my phone, I press it to my ear.

 _"Carly?"_

 _"Hey Freddie, I think it's time we talked."_

And the rest of that night was spent talking, laughing and crying. And little did I have to regret.


	2. Chapter 2

Months after the arrival and adoption of Ellie's baby, Carly found herself bored in the usual everyday things she enjoyed. No more Mondays spent in Principle Franklin's office discussing anything Ellie could creatively dream up to talk about, from her dreaming of being able to go to prom, to hoping that someday she would be expelled from foster care and taken into someone else's home permanently.

Ellie's personality resembled a butterfly; a quiet spirit who often liked to independance, dreaming up anything or place she could go. And the maturity Ellie showed through the entire four months Carly knew her was respectable for a young teen, though she had some rough patches along the way. Raining doubt and crying spells, confusion and uncertainty of how everything would play out, but in those months Ellie had grown from a helpless teen to a respectable young girl, given the things she's been through.

Carly looked down at her squeamish toddler as she splashed bubbles up from the tub. Carly pulled the plug from the drain, watching the water empty out of the tub and noticed the distraught look on the child's face as the bubbles swirled down the drain and left none of the soapy remains.

Pulling Megan from the tub, Carly wraps a towel snuggly around the girl and stands her on the rug. Bzz...Bzz. Carly looks over as her phone lights up and vibrates.

"Hey Freddie! I'll be down in a sec. I've got to dry Megan off."

Carly throws down her phone and briskly dries off Megan, squeezing the water out of her hair and combing through the snarly mess of bouncing curls. Sliding on her pajamas, then nudging Megan forward, Carly rushes down the steps, Megan trailing down the stairs behind her, trying to keep up and grab her mommy's hand again.

"Mama!" Megan screeches in fear of losing sight of her mom.

Carly scoops her up and hoists Megan up on her hip. Slinging her purse over her left shoulder and reaching for her keys, Carly rapidly exits the apartment, walking quickly across to Freddie's, who was already waiting nervously outside. Carly starts walking toward the stairs, Freddie speed walking, shuffling next to her in order to keep up.

"Should we really be this worried? We're seventeen! I mean we can't even vote and..." He consults her.

"Sh...!" Carly shushes him.

"Did you want anyone to hear? We know what we are doing is best for Megan and that's that." She informs him.

"Carly, are you sure it's not just... hormones or something?"

Carly doesn't respond but instead shushes him over the sound of her car starting. She reaches back to make sure Freddie buckled Megan by pulling for the seat straps.

"When will Spencer be back?" Freddie asks, looking around as if he was there.

"I don't know, but he'll be in for heck of a surprise. Should we do this?! Freddie, I feel really guilty."

Carly was second guessing herself and Freddie lowers his voice.

"No matter what he says, we know it's for the best." Freddie reassures her, grabbing her hand.

"You're right. Let's go!"

Carly looks around the small interior of the building and nervously looks back at Freddie, wondering how she could've ever made it to this point in her life. Nervously biting her lip, she blushes and then smiles down at the daughter they welcomed together almost two years ago.

Two years before, Carly was glaring at an overly expensive plastic stick, staring worriedly at two faint lines which unknowingly determined the rest of her life.

 _"Shoot...no, not now! Oh my gosh."_

 _She paces anxiously across the bathroom floor, test in one hand and the other on her sweaty forehead._

 _"Spencer will understand, and everything will work out." She tries to reassure herself._

 _"Who am I kidding? He's gonna kill me." She whispers to herself again._

 _"Carls? Sam's here!" Spencer shouts, lightly knocking on the door._

 _"Um... Hold on." Her voice quivers._

 _Tossing the test carelessly into the trash, Carly collects herself and shuffles out of the bathroom quickly, avoiding Spencer's eyes as she walked quickly into the other room, and greeted Sam who already made herself at home in their fridge._

Carly shakes the nervous thoughts out of her head. The events that took place before Megan felt like yesterday, and getting married was like a symbol of finally taking responsibility and owning up. But it really wasn't and Carly wasn't really sure if she felt that way.

"Freddie, are you sure we should go through with this?"

"Of course. I mean we have a daughter so that's a good reason, right?" He asks insecurely.

"Yeah, but I don't want our marriage to be just that."

"I love you." He assures her.

"You too." Her voice wavers nervously.

"Then we can do this." He says, firmly gripping her hand.

Taking a deep breath, Carly nods and together, they leave to make their eternal commitment.


	3. Chapter 3

Carly knew she had to tell someone besides Freddie about her pregnancy. Whether it was Sam first then Spencer, or Sam then Spencer or even Spencer, and Sam together, she knew she couldn't prolong telling anyone.

Carly slowly walks down the steps, hands clasped together in front of her. Just before, she was anxiously pacing her bedroom, picturing and acting out scenarios in her head, rehearsing what she had to say. But now none of it seemed necessary, for as soon as she'd even see Spencer, she would feel the tears stinging the back of her eyes again and words would pour out.

" _Spencer?" Her voice weakly called out._

Spencer turned around on his ladder and looked back down at the sheepish teen. He never usually saw Carly as serious as this unless it was something important. Most of the time Carly and Spencer's sibling relationship was jokingly teasing, which made the serious moments seem like they should be more obvious to Spencer.

" _What's up kiddo?" Spencer asks, wiping his paint stained hands off on a rag and climbing down from his ladder._

Carly plops on the couch and crosses her arms, looking down. Spencer sits next to her and tries to put his arm around her in a brotherly way, but is shrugged off.

" _What's wrong?" Spencer asks again._

" _Spencer, I don't know what to say but I know you're going to be upset and disappointed or whatever else but I think it's right I tell you and…"_

" _Okay, what's never babble this much unless you're really upset. But whatever it is i'm sure i'll understand."_

" _Promise?" Her voice wavers._

Spencer nods and jokingly pulls a strand of hair, and Carly laughs. Then in all seriousness she takes a deep breath and looks him in the eyes.

" _Spencer, i'm pregnant." She whispers quickly, feeling her mouth go dry._

" _Pregnant?" He asks, trying to clarify what she just said._

" _Yeah, please don't make me say it again. But you said you'd understand anything, right?"_

" _Except that. Carly, how could you be so irresponsible?"_

" _Irresponsible? You killed three goldfish because you were too lazy to feed them!" She defends._

" _Alright that's true, but this is different. You can't forget to feed your baby for three days! Now do you wanna tell me how this happened?"_

" _As if you don't know! Please just don't be mad! We can work this out! Freddie and I will talk adoption, getting jobs, anything!"_

" _I'm not mad, just disappointed." Spencer mutters, and Carly's heart drops._

They sit in silence, Spencer watching the clock move slower than his own thoughts, and Carly plays with the ends of her hair. Breaking the silence, Carly looks up and leans into Spencer.

" _Hey, I'm sorry. This wasn't something we planned. But Spencer, I'm really scared and need you to understand and support whatever Freddie and I decide."_

" _Carly, I expect and trust that you'll make the best choices for the baby and for I hope you'll do that."_

" _And we will. Freddie and I just don't want all this negativity around us, even though that's what we expect." Carly explains._

" _Yeah, that's the problem. Everyone just seems to be so grumpy and judgemental." Spencer agrees._

" _Yeah. Now I think I understand why Sam hates people so much."_

Carly smiles and gets up from the couch. She walks into the kitchen to open the fridge and the overwhelming smell of Spencer tuna casserole makes it's way into her overly sensitive nostrils. Carly darts for the bathroom and Spencer hears the door slam.

Sam then walks into their apartment and plops on the couch. Spencer sighs loudly and Sam burns him a look of disgust.

" _What's stuck in your craw?" Sam asks annoyed._

" _Carly's in there vomiting."_

" _Spencer?" Sam suddenly lowers her voice._

" _Yeah Sam?"_

" _She's pregnant, isn't she?" Sam says obviously._

 _"You got that from me just telling you that she's vomiting?"_

 _"No, she puked at the Smoothie last week and she gagged when she smelled the red velvet cupcakes at the bakery yesterday."_

 _"Weird.." Spencer says confused._

 _"Yeah, don't you see?" Sam insists._

" _Well hey, don't mention it to her. Let her tell you first and i'm trusting you'll do that?"_

" _Yeah, because we see trusting people works for you, 'Uncle Spencer.'." Sam retorts sarcastically and Spencer groans._

 **xxx**

"Carly, went where?" Spencer demanded to Sam as she sat on their couch, watching Spencer pace back and forth furiously.

"She and Freddie eloped at that skeezy church on main street."

"Why would she do that?" Spencer asks, intending it to be a question to himself.

"Beats me, I see nothing it that fredwart!" She grumbles.

"So why are you telling me this? Why wouldn't you protect Carly?"

"Because i'm not happy about it either, but Carly was dead set on it happening. She thought what she was doing was best so I said nothing."

"How is being married at seventeen 'best' for them?" Spencer infers.

"They got nothing to lose. They already had a baby." Sam brushes it off.

"Sam, they can't legally get married at their age unless they have consent from an adult." He informs her.

"Well gee, that's a real problem considering there's no mature adult her and Mrs. Benson would be too much of a nutcase to allow them to get married." Sam mutters sarcastically.

Spencer burns Sam a look of disapproval then paces some more as Sam stands, gripping his shoulder with her left hand while slapping him with her right.

"Get a grip! My mom got married to the sleazy pastor there, and he didn't tell her it wasn't technically legal until he stole my mom's credit card and was halfway to Guadalajara." Sam warns him.

"Did she get it back?" He asks unimportantly.

"No, she never made payments for it anyway so the company canceled it."

"Okay, how is this supposed to make me feel better!" Spencer demands.

"It's not. I'm just reassuring you that it's not legal." She insists, trying to some what comfort him.

"Sam, this is bad! I bet they're already married." He nervously began biting the nails on his left hand.

"Well, shouldn't we just take your car and go find them?"

"And if they're not there?"

"We track her pear phone on mine." She realizes.

Sam tosses Spencer's keys from the kitchen and he catches them one handed as he pulls on his coat with his other. Sam and him leave the apartment quickly, hoping not to catch sight of Mrs. Benson who would demand a lengthy explanation.


	4. Chapter 4

" _Spencer, I'm just calling to let you know that Freddie and I are on our way home and that we have something to tell you…"_

Spencer slowly feels the words drift off as he silently listens to his voicemail in disbelief. A cold chill crawls up his spine and he imagines Carly and Freddie, newly married, coming in the living room, unsuspectingly telling him the news of their elopement.

"Sam, they're heading home, we gotta get back." He says hurriedly.

"Already?"

"Yeah! Carly says she has some news. We gotta get back and act surprised, no matter what."

Spencer turns off the nearest exit and speeds home. He and Sam scatter puzzle piece on the table and sit around it. Soon Carly and Freddie come home, Megan on Freddie's hip, and they're both dressed in their pajamas, including Megan.

"Well, well, hey Mr. and Mrs. Benson." Sam mutters amusingly to herself.

"You're building a puzzle?" Carly asks as she set her coat in the chair.

"Kind of. So where did you two go off to tonight in your pj's?" He hints.

Carly stares nervously at Freddie and he clears his throat, anxiously staring at his feet.

"Oh um, we had to…" Carly stutters.

"Get some fresh fruit from the flea market." Freddie finishes.

"Yeah, we love us some fresh cantaloupe after dark!" Carly adds, sheepishly smiling.

"Don't you mean, cantEloupe." He jokes, adding emphasis to the end of the word.

"Spencer, I…" Carly begins to break down speechless.

"Carly, I already knew. Sam and I were actually going to find you."

"But how did you… why would…?" She stammers again.

"Why would you do this Carls? Aren't you better than that to do something so stupid and technically illegal? You do know you also need an adult's permission?" He asks deliriously.

"Spencer, it's not a big deal! We wanted to do it because we wanted a commitment to ourselves and to Megan that we wouldn't leave her." Carly whimpers.

"Not a big deal? Telling someone you'll love them for life isn't a big deal? Don't you realize the divorce rate for teens is more than fifty percent!" Spencer furiously shouts.

"Well, here's a statistic for you: there's an one hundred percent chance I'm not talking to you again if you don't agree that we made the best choice for us as a family!"

"Carly," He says calmly through his teeth.

"I didn't want you getting married because I was worried about you. You are young! You could date who you want, go out for the most part where ever. I don't want you tied down by someone you feel like you should be with just because you have a child."

"Freddie and I are parents and can make adult decisions! Besides, Freddie and I love each other." She begs devastated.

"You love the security of being with someone else."

Carly looks down, calmly shuffling her feet and sighs.

"Ugh! Why are you always right?" She groans, feeling defeated.

"Because I'm your older brother, who knows best and whom you should always listen to."

"The last time I listened to you a cat ended up in our wall."She sarcastically reminds him.

"He's gone now." Spencer informs her proudly.

Carly gets up from the couch and pounds her fist against the wall. A small meow echoes from behind the drywall.

"I've gotta fix that." Spencer moans and Carly narrows her eyes at him disapprovingly.

 **XXX**

" _Carly, are you sure you don't want a picture of the baby?" The ultrasound tech asks her to reconsider._

" _No thanks, seeing the baby or knowing the gender isn't gonna change my mind about the adoption." She insists, referring to Spencer._

 _Spencer backs off and the doctor clicks the machine, printing it anyway, passing the picture to Spencer who had nodded when she had asked._

" _You're measuring around ten weeks, so we'll have another one at sixteen weeks. See you then!" The nurse hands Carly an appointment form and pulls off her glove as she hands Carly a napkin to wipe the jelly from her stomach._

 _Closing the door behind her, the nurse leaves as Carly sits up, pulling her shirt back down tossing the napkin in the garbage, ignoring Spencer who was staring at her intently._

" _Carls don't you think we should talk about-"_

" _No," She cuts him off._

" _What's done is done, and my mind is made up. I can't take care of a baby! I don't have a job, i'm not done with highschool, and i'm not just gonna expect dad to send money to take care of the baby! Don't you think it would be selfish to put the baby through a hard time? Wouldn't you rather have the baby have two parents with financial stability and love to give him or her?" She rambles in a long lecture, trying to get her point across._

" _Carls, I understand where you're coming from, but who do you think is paying for your doctor appointments?"_

" _Well don't you think it would be tacky to ask dad for money for something that was my fault in the first place? I have to take responsibility for my actions and own up. I need to start making the right choices and for you to support them." Carly was persistent in her beliefs._

" _Carly," He begins to console her then backs up._

" _You know, you're right. You're almost sixteen, you can make you're own decisions."_

" _What?" She asks calmly._

" _Yeah, starting with finding the right parents for this baby and working with Freddie on it. You and him have to make decisions together as the parents of this baby."_

" _Spencer!" She says, containing her shock and disbelief._

" _And you have to tell dad your plan." He adds._

" _Okay, you're right." She sighs, giving up her argument._

" _But if you do decide to keep the baby, you'll have to figure out how to pay your way. Make money for the baby to put away and such."_

" _Okay, but keeping the baby is not a possibility. The truth is that i'm scared that I won't be able to figure out this whole motherhood thing."_

" _Carls, you'd be a great mother. After all, you're a great friend to Sam. Sometimes I feel like she's coming over to our house to practically raise her." He laughs._

" _Thanks for understanding." She smiles up at him as he helps her down from the table._

" _I love you kid, and I just want what's best for you because you'll always be my baby sis."_


	5. Chapter 5

"Spencer!" Carly screams from the living room, panic heavy in her voice.

Spencer dashes in, catching a glimpse of what was happening on the floor behind the couch. Carly was knelt down behind her, holding her hands beneath Megan's head to keep it from hitting the hardwood roughly and the small child shook helplessly, uncontrollably gnawing at an old teething ring Carly had placed in her mouth to prevent her from chewing her tongue.

Spencer nervously paces in front of the couch, and Carly motions him to toss her a pillow. As Carly places the pillow gently beneath the child's head, she slowly stops jerking, and Spencer glances at his watch.

"How long was that?" He asks.

"Like thirty seconds." She informs him and Spencer repeats it to himself.

"She's warm." Carly acknowledges as she presses her palm to Megan's forehead.

"Spencer? Do we have a thermometer in the bathroom?"

Spencer sprints to the bathroom, and comes back with the thermometer, tossing it to Carly. Carly touches it to the small child's face, waiting for the reading.

"103! Spencer, that's too warm. No wonder she had a seizure! If we would've caught it sooner we could have gave her some of her medicine!"

Megan's seizures weren't an uncommon thing. Megan had been having seizures since she was eight months old. Every time she ran a temperature, she would begin to get shaky and a seizure would follow. Carly had started to keep a better watch on the child at night, and developed a constant habit of checking in on her obsessively.

Spencer lifted the limp child up and cradled her in his arms, grabbing her coat and his own, and motioned Carly out the door.

"We're taking her into the clinic."

"Wait! Did you give her the medicine this morning?" She asks as if something just clicked.

"I always do- then again, maybe I forgot…" He answers sheepishly.

"Spencer! You can't forget!"

"I'm sorry! I was trying to fix the smoke alarm in the bedrooms all morning and then the one in my room caught on fire!"

"Ugh, let's go!" Carly grumbled annoyed at her brother's ability to cause anything to catch fire.

 **XXX**

" _Freddie, get a grip! We're gonna have to make a decision on the baby soon so you can't just go to your mom every time you have a problem." Carly reminds him._

" _My mom works as a social worker! She'll know where to look and who to set us up with! Trust me, I'm on board with the whole adoption, I just don't think it's a good idea to just pick anyone."_

 _Freddie reaches his hand over on the bed, dropping it around Carly's shoulder and the two sat there acting as if Carly hadn't just dropped the biggest bombshell of her life on Freddie just a few weeks before, and now was breaking the news that she for sure wanted to put the baby up for adoption._

" _Being mature is really hard right now given our situation." Freddie groans._

" _But I have to show Spencer that I can take responsibility for my actions and for him to stop treating me like a child. Oh man, adulting is hard!" She whimpers._

 _Freddie stood up, reaching for the file binder he brought up from his mom's work space in their apartment. He slowly turns the laminated pages, pointing to faces he knew Carly would find comforting. After a half an hour, he closes the binder, frustration and exhaustion taking over._

" _So?" Freddie groans._

" _Well we can't give up this easily! Finding a home is very important for this baby and we only have five more months to do it! I need you to be supportive of this. We're a team!"_

" _Carly, maybe we should consider keeping the-"_

" _No, that would be selfish. This baby deserves a better home and better parents than we could ever be." She stops him._

" _We'll keep an open mind on our options." He kisses the top of her head and pulls the binder underneath his arm._

" _Night Carls." He says, waving on his way out._

" _Night Freddie. Don't forget that we have an appointment tomorrow."_

" _Do you think we'll find out the gender?" He asks hopefully._

" _I don't know, it might be too soon. Besides, I already told you that no matter what the gender is, it's not gonna change my mind about the adoption." She scuffs, turning her head._

" _Okay, night Carls." He says, his hopefulness turning to sadness._

 _Freddie didn't know it at the time, but he sure did have a profound love of the child he hadn't even met._

 **XXX**

"Hey, how is she?" Freddie asks as he knocks on Carly's bedroom door and enters, observing how she cradled Megan in her arms while she leaned back against the headboard of her bed.

"Still a bit warm, but better than yesterday. She was up all night!"

"Poor thing." Freddie sympathizes.

"So how did your mom take the news of our 'marriage'?"

"She didn't. I haven't told her and I don't intend to until this entire mess is sorted out."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, since it's not legal, there's really no use of us pretending it happened if it wasn't really official. So why would my mom care that we had an unofficial, illegal wedding? Why would we get my mom hyped up for nothing?"

"I guess you're right. It felt… I don't know. Like we were doing something official and adultish. Making a decision together for once rather than fighting over it. I still think us getting 'married' was a great idea for us and for Megan." She assures him.

Freddie glances over at Carly's open laptop on her bedstand, noticing the URL.

"What's that." He says, nodding to the webpage.

"Oh- nothing." She blushes, avoiding his eyes.

"Carly," He begins.

"Fine- I wanted to take Sam to "jump-air", the trampoline place but I realized that it's a bit juvenile, isn't it?"

"Sam is a bit Juvenile, but i'm sure she'd love it."

"I know, but I just want to spend some time with her because I feel like i've been ignoring her lately, especially after our wedding. So can you watch Megan on Saturday night?"

"I'd love to." He smiles reassuringly at her.

 **XXX**

 _Freddie holds Carly's hand as she looks up at him, hoping that he doesn't notice her staring. He senses her discomfort and squeezes her hand as he gazes in awe, speechless at the sound of the baby's heartbeat._

" _Will you want to know the gender this appointment?" The nurse asks as she runs the sensor over Carly's stomach._

" _Isn't it too soon?" Freddie asks cluelessly._

" _Of course not. Some women find out at thirteen weeks, but of course it's not alway accurate." She laughs._

 _Freddie looks at Carly with pleading eyes, but she just avoids his, blowing air out of her cheeks and wringing her hands above her face._

" _Carls?" He calls, getting her attention._

" _Freddie, I told you. It won't change my mind about the adoption. So why does it matter what the baby is?"_

" _Because maybe the adoptive parents we find will want to know."_

" _We haven't found any parents for this baby yet. But when we do, we will do what's best." She snaps._

" _So is that a no?" The nurse asks and Carly looks away._

 _Freddie looks at Carly once again, and realizes that her persistance of making things right was the one thing he loved most. A woman who knew what she thought was best for others and herself._

" _Um, no thanks." Freddie mutters and Carly could see the hurt in his eyes. Freddie's love for Carly was only being disrespected by him not listening to how she felt._

 _Freddie disappointedly dropped Carly's hand as she reached to pull down her shirt, and tosses her napkin into the garbage._

" _Carly, don't you think we'd have better luck if the potential parents knew what they were getting? I mean, caucasian baby boys or girls are high demand!" He informs her._

" _Freddie, I don't want my baby to be adopted because they're on high demand for their color. I want to find someone who wants a child regardless of his or her race, or background."_

" _Carls…"_

" _No Freddie! Why can't you support how I feel about this baby! I think that adoption makes total sense and that's all that matters!"_

" _But what about how I feel, okay? This whole thing seems centered around you the entire time, and you seem to keep forgetting that I'm the father and am fully as involved in this as you are! But every time we try to talk about this, and try to pick a parent, or plan for our future, it's never good enough! Why is that Carly?"_

 _Carly looks away and Freddie realizes that he hurt her. He reaches toward her, willing to put a hand on her shoulder, but pulls back, realizing that she needed space. As he begins to open the door, she sniffs, and her small voice whimpers his name._

" _Freddie, i'm sorry." She groans._

" _Carly, you don't have to be! I'm just as stressed and faulted in this as you probably are. This hasn't been easy."_

" _Tell me about it! I had to tell my dad I'm pregnant, and the way he yelled, it made me realize that I couldn't ever make a good mother because I never had one to teach me. But it also made me want to find the baby an even better adoptive parent. Ans when my dad gave me a whole banter on teen moms, a piece of me realized that none of that mattered. That I didn't need a mom to teach me to be a mother, all I really needed was love, and my dad always gave that to me!"_

" _Carly, I...I." He reaches out his hand, setting it on her shoulder and sits next to her on the exam table._

" _Freddie, when I was being picky about the parents, it was because secretly, I was hoping we could stall the adoption and in the end be forced to have to keep the baby."_

" _Is that really what you want?"_

" _It's selfish, but yes. As much as I would rather want my baby to have financial stability and a loving home with parents that could actually spend time with them, when it comes down to it, I really just want love, and that's what we have Freddie. But if I tell Spencer this he'll lose his mind."_

" _But Spencer's your brother! And even if you make mistakes, he'll be there to support your choices along the way. Be there to help you pick up the broken pieces and watch you grow."_

 _Carly smiles and sets her head on Freddie's shoulder and Freddie takes her in, hugging her tightly, and planting a kiss on her lips. For the first time in a long while, Carly had felt safe and reassured everything was gonna be alright._


	6. Chapter 6

"Carls, why'd you really take me out today?" Sam suspiciously sips her latte.

Carly smiles and takes a bite of her dessert, chewing slowly, and holding her index finger up to her mouth. As soon as she finished, she laughs at looks at Sam in disbelief.

"Can't you just be happy that I took you out? You said your mother hasn't taken you jumping in years."

"No, I said that she's never taken me, but I've been wanting to go for years." She corrects her and Carly laughs.

"Carly, can I ask you something?" Sam mumbles, suddenly serious.

"Anything!" Carly encourages her.

"Why do you want to suddenly spend more time with me? I mean, when you had Megan we kind of veered off in our own directions, and suddenly it's like you're doing this to make yourself feel better."

"Sam, why didn't you tell me you felt this way?"

"Because, I didn't think it was what you needed to hear when you were under all the stress." She sighs.

"Sam, I love you and you're my best friend. Things will never change between us and if they do, it will only be for the best! And I happen to know a very spunky little two year old who loves her Aunt Sammy! I even think she's kind of turning into a mini you!" Carly laughs reassuringly.

Sam sheepishly smiled and took another sip of her drink, holding it cupped into her hands to draw the warmth from the drink into her hands.

"You mean that?"

"Of course. And as for Megan, she's becoming a monster! Did you know she bit Freddie the other day!"

"Oh Man, why?" She asks, suddenly amused.

"Freddie took her chicken nuggets from her."

"Man, she's gonna be Freddie's worst nightmare." She scuffs.

"You should've seen his face!" Carly brags.

"Man, she's just like the child my mother never took care of."

 **XXX**

" _So, do you think we've found the ones?" Freddie glances at Carly for her approval._

" _Definitely! We've got to set up a time to meet them immediately." Carly agrees._

 _Spencer looks over from the end of the couch, sitting next to the two teens, and gazes over the crumpled page neatly pushed in the laminated page._

" _Them? They look, I don't know, just uptight." Spencer infers unsurely._

" _Spencer, i'm sure they're nice people looking for a child." Carly promises, trying to be optimistic._

" _I don't know Carls, the wife looks like a priss." Sam smirks._

" _Sam! Why can't you guys be supportive! We're looking for good people to be the potential parents of this child! And if we don't find parents by the time she's born then my baby's going to be a hobo." Carly stammers._

" _Okay, what have you been sniffing?" Sam scuffs jokingly._

" _Guy's, you're not helping! You know, this really comes down to mine and Freddie's decision, so it doesn't matter! But we kind of have to go through with it! Freddie, what do you think?"_

 _Freddie groans unsurely, looking away and Sam laughs curiously, anxiously waiting for his seemingly amusing response._

" _Actually Carls, uh… I don't know! Maybe they're right! Would we really want our baby raised as a snoot?"_

" _Snoot?" Spencer repeats._

" _Ugh- you're not helping!" Carly sighs frustrated, slamming the binder closed and tossing it on the table._

 _Carly, with much help from Freddie supporting her from behind and pushing her back to help her lean forward, stands up and walks to the counter to pour herself a glass of punch._

" _Carls," Freddie begins._

" _No, you're right. Maybe this adoption thing wasn't meant to be." She sighs._

" _So what happens now? Foster care?" Spencer implies._

" _No, We keep the baby." Carly sighs, this time feeling complete relief and confidence in what she really wanted. She wanted the baby and it sure did feel good to say it aloud._

 **XXX**

Carly sits at the kitchen table, working on her entry exam for college while balancing taking care of Megan on her weekend to have her. Megan sat kneeling at the table, eating her mac and cheese, sloppily scooping it onto her spoon with her fingers, and feeding herself with her left hand.

The idea that Megan wanted to be like her daddy made Carly smile. She was excited on how the influence of being around her daddy could be beneficial. Megan was already well on her way to becoming somewhat of a daddy's girl. She knew that getting together with Freddie for the sake of Megan was good, but the idea of their marriage being unofficial bothered her.

Carly had first started to notice Megan's sudden and clingy interest in Freddie when she first started weaning Megan off her milk at eleven months old. It was around that time that the bond they shared during feed became less often and her bedtime was becoming the only time that Carly really got to see her most days, while most of her time was spent mentoring Ellie her senior year.

Freddie often got to read to Megan, and her bond with her daughter felt like it was becoming less, as Carly arrived later each night, missing seeing Megan, and the only time they shared was really when Carly kissed her goodnight as she passed her room. It broke Carly's heart, seeing her daughter grow, but it felt special, the bond with her Freddie she shared, that Carly felt like she missed out on when her father was always stationed somewhere.

Suddenly Carly could feel the vibrations of her phone against the table. She picked it up and without a thought, answered it, hearing a cheery, pleasant and familiar voice on the other end.

"Carly? It's Ellie! I've got a question for you!"

"Hey Ellie! What's up?" She asks surprised, concerned despite the cheery tone of Ellie's voice.

"Have you ever heard of 'adult adoption'?"

"Isn't that where it's legal to adopt someone over eighteen?"

"After they've been kicked out of foster care. But anyway, my foster parents told me about it but i won't eighteen for a few years then I am getting kicked out of the system."

"Oh Ellie, i'm sorry. That's got to be the scariest feeling." Carly worriedly gnaws at her fingers, scared of where Ellie would take this conversation.

Carly's genuine love and concern for Ellie allowed Carly to comfort her in a time of need, despite knowing the young girl for less than five months. But Carly had felt concerned for her after hearing her news, knowing that she would unwillingly be thrown out of her foster home into the whereabouts of who-knows- where. It had been something that worried her from day one and she still found herself wondering about Ellie at night. Ellie's optimism made her seem to have an outwardly cheery appearance, but deep inside Ellie was scared of the unknown.

"It's okay. My social worker promised that she would try to find me a good match. And if she couldn't, she'd find a way that I could get into a college and dorm. Of course we'd look at scholarships, but i'd have to work three jobs to take care of the rest."

"Wait- that's good news, isn't it? Knowing you'll at least have a place to stay and make some friends. And what about the Maisie's parents? Have you talked to them since she was born?"

"Well, we agreed that I would get to see her a couple times and call often if I needed to talk, but I don't really feel like they'd understand."

Megan smiles and switches her spoon into her other hand, lifting her shirt to stick the end of it in her belly button. Her lunch spills into her lap and Carly grabs the spoon with her free hand and turn it around in Megan's hand the correct way, then scoops on some mac and cheese for her. She happily takes it, the orange sauce cornering the edges of the outside of her mouth.

"Ellie, you know i'm always here, and i'm very happy to be hearing from you again.  
Especially after all that's been going on, it's nice to hear a kind voice that's happy to talk to you."

"Oh, did you care to talk about it? I mean, I'm probably not the most reliable on advice, but i'd be happy to help!" She says enthusiastically, and Carly hears the happy tone of her voice.

"No, um… actually it's really complicated. Freddie and I went off and got married and then found out it wasn't really, legal."

"Oh, i'm sorry Carls; That really bites! But at least you'll both be eighteen soon."

That's when it clicked with Carly. She felt a tiny spark go off prior to the realization that she would be eighteen in a few weeks and Freddie was to turn eighteen in November. Unable to contain her excitement, she scratched down the note in the corner of her notebook, reminding herself to talk to Freddie later.

"Thanks Ellie! And are you sure you're gonna be okay? Because you can stop by anytime! And I uh… would have to talk to Spencer but i'm sure he wouldn't mind if you stayed the summer. You know, just until I go off to college or we find you somewhere."

"Oh, I don't know! That's such a great gesture and comforting to know there's somewhere I could go when my foster parents kick me out in a few years, but I just don't want to make you feel obligated to look after another person. Especially since i'm not out of the system for a few more years."

"Well we have plenty of room here. We could make you a place to stay in my room or the studio. Or we could even move Megan into my room and you can have hers! I promise, you are not trouble!"

Carly hears silence on the other end and could swear she heard Ellie talking it out with herself, trying to decide the pros and cons of moving out. After a long pause, and the noise of scribbling on paper stopped, she heard Ellie sigh and repeat 'Hello?'.

"Carly, if it's really no trouble, I would love to move, but of course we'd have to talk to my social worker, at least I think." Carly hears the excitement in Ellie's voice.

They hang up and she scribbles down ' _Talk to Spencer about living arrangement for Ellie.'_ in her notebook at closed it, setting it to the side, and a warm feeling overwhelmed her body, feeling gracious of the suggestion she made, and she felt happy knowing that Ellie would be safe and hopefully happy.


	7. Chapter 7

_At Carly's twenty-six week appointment, she and Freddie nervously stared at the monitor, Carly's hand gripping Freddie's tightly, and she could feel the clamminess of his hand in hers._

" _Okay, we're gonna take a look now. If you don't want to know the gender, then you might wanna look away." The nurse forewarns them._

 _Freddie grins down at Carly, and for a second she avoids his eyes, nervously letting go of his hands to wring hers' together. After pausing a few more seconds, she looks considerately up at Freddie and nods as a sheepish and small grin forms on her face._

" _We would." She exclaims as Freddie excitedly squeezes her hand._

" _Well, it looks like you're having a girl!" The nurse exclaims as she points toward the screen._

" _A girl?" Freddie mummers and his eyes were beaded, a small grin spread across his face._

 _Carly, In the last few weeks had felt the bitterness toward the adoption soften up and the glow she felt inside for the child she had yet to meet was only strengthened by the sound of the child's beating heart._

 _The fact that the baby was a girl had not changed how she felt towards the adoption or the child, but Carly knew that knowing the gender would make it easier to find the baby a home. At first she wasn't so sure, but after finding a couple she knew would want a baby regardless of the gender or race, made Carly feel better and more sure about finding out the gender as being a positive thing._

 _But suddenly everything changed despite the baby being in placed with good parents, because she had finally came to terms with everything. And prior to coming to terms with the idea of being pregnant, Carly was dead set on adoption and nothing would change that. As Carly came to realize though that she really had no say, she decided that an open adoption would be the best and easier compromise for both her, Freddie and the parents. And she definitely hoped for less heartbreak though she knew it wouldn't be easy, but she decided that there would surely be less guilt._

 _After the nurse left, and Carly had finished getting dressed, she turned to Freddie, watching him stare intensely at the ultrasound, and could see the heartbreak in his eyes when he realized that the baby girl would soon not be theirs anymore._

" _Freddie, we can't do this." Carly suddenly bursts out._

" _What?" He gasps, clearly caught off guard._

" _Carly, we have to do this. We've discussed this and decided this is what's right unless we don't find parents! And Renee and Ben are the perfect parents!"_

" _Freddie, no one can be the 'perfect family'. Sure, you can seem nice on the outside, have a big house, or seem happy with their lifestyle, and the Posen's could surely provide. But when it comes down to it, no matter how hard you try, you can't be that 'perfect parent'. So what sense does it make to try and find our baby a home that's better when we can't be any better than anyone else? Why does any of that matter when the only thing we're rich in is love?"_

 _Freddie stifles a laugh at the last part, and the familiar, sweet and sometimes corny Carly Shay stared at him, with all seriousness in her voice, and it was then that the point of the corny spiel made sense and hit him hard with realization that she was completely right, contradicting everything they believed and thought was right and true before. They didn't need the trouble of finding parents when they could be just as qualified._

" _So, what do you really want? Do you really think we'd be able to give the baby the same kind of attention and care the Posen's can give her? " He asks, cupping his hands around hers._

" _Maybe, we should call the parents." She suggests._

" _And tell them what?" He infers._

" _That we're withdrawing from our adoption."_

 **XXX**

"Hey Spence!" Carly calls plainly as she walks through the front door.

Spencer sat beside Megan on the couch, the small child's face and lap covered in crumbs, as well as the couch.

"Momma!" Megan squealed happily, and after the long day Carly had, she wished that everyone would greet each other with the same enthusiasm.

Carly swooped Megan up into a hug and then sat down on the couch beside Spencer, Megan occupying her lap. She seriously stares at Spencer as she prepared to tell him the not so great news she had received.

"So how'd it go today kid?" Spencer asks, sensing that the news he would receive wouldn't be some he'd want to hear.

"I feel awful Spencer! How on earth am I gonna break the news to Ellie?"

"So, not so hot?" He concludes.

Carly burns him a look of disapproval and he looks away, clearing his throat to avoid the glare of the unhappy teen.

"They told me that unless or until the current foster parents sign away their rights, or decide not to adopt her after she turns eighteen, that she can't come to stay with us. Her parents have to agree to transfer her to us!"

"That's jank! She's not an animal or an immigrant! They can't just toss her around in the system like this!"

"Spencer, just help me! I can't tell Ellie on my own! It'll break her."

"I'm sure Ellie is strong enough of a girl to handle some small bad news! Carly, Ellie's been through a lot in her life, especially lately."

"And that's why I don't want to have to give her another thing to be disappointed about." Carly sighs, flailing back against the couch.

Spencer rubs her back and smiles. Taking Megan and setting her on the floor, then taking her hand in his, he looks down at the girl and begins walking her out of the room.

"C'mon, let's give mommy some space to think! How about we splatter paint?" He encourages her.

"Can we use our hands, 'stead?" Megan asks, looking up at him, excitement in her eyes.

"Haha! We sure can!" He says, trying to distract her from Carly.

Carly sighs and flops sideways on the couch, pushing air out of her cheeks irritably. She groans, then stares at her phone lying on the table. She knew it was now or never. She had to disappoint Ellie and her already high hopes. It wasn't the first time she had to disappoint someone with a promise she couldn't keep.

 **XXX**

" _The contract states right here that we as the biological parents have rights to withdraw at anytime until the birth of the child and its rights are signed away!" Carly shows Freddie what Spencer had pointed out to her earlier that morning._

 _Carly had been surprised by how well Spencer took the news. Though he was disappointed, he had the new excitement of seeing his new niece to look forward to. But still, there was a lot of the baby basics to figure out. But Spencer had promised that no matter which way in life Carly wanted to go, that he'd support her and encourage her along the way._

" _So we have a meeting with the adoption counselor tomorrow to work out legal troubles?"_

" _No, because nothing has been officially signed yet. We only just told the parents that we wanted to withdraw, before signing anything that gives away our rights as the baby's biological parents! It's basically just like taking away something you promised."_

" _I feel so guilty! Why do I feel so guilty?" Carly rambles quickly._

" _Do you know what I think? I think this whole thing is ridiculous and cliche!" Freddie expresses angrily._

" _Freddie!" Carly warns._

" _No! Everyone jumps to the conclusion that adoption is necessary the minute they find out there unexpectedly pregnant, but in reality they don't even really think of the reason they really want the adoption, but just that the baby should be placed there because it feels like the reasonable thing to do. They don't consider what they want, but what everyone else thinks is right. And I think that keeping the baby is best. I don't want adoption to be the best choice I make because it's the first thing I think of doing, and I don't want abortion to ever be a choice."_

 _Carly speechlessly stared at him in disbelief. It was if all the feelings he bottled up inside over the last few months had exploded out of him, and how he truly felt showed. He loved his baby! There was no doubt in her mind that Freddie cared for them. And if he thought along that they could do it, but was just going along with her decision, that made her feel worse. He had cared enough about her to agree with her, going along with a plan that wasn't even something he wanted._

" _Freddie, why didn't you tell me sooner?"_

" _I've been trying but you've been so fixed on the adoption I decided that if you'd be happy with adoption , I should go along with it. To make you happy because you really don't need any extra stress in your life."_

" _Freddie, if we tell the parents wanting to adopt our daughter just how we feel, and everything you just said, i'm sure they'd be okay. There's plenty of other baby's that need homes and our will be one less."_

" _Who knew after everything we've put ourselves through, and constantly changing our minds, that we'd withdraw. We're crazy!" He jokingly exclaims._

" _I love you and I am confident that we're gonna be okay parents. Not all teen moms are set up for failure. And I truly believe this baby is gonna have an okay life." Carly whispers and Freddie smiles._


	8. Chapter 8

Carly nervously paced the iCarly studio, gnawing at her fingertips as Sam stared at her from the beanbag below. As Carly anxiously awaited Ellie, so that she could talk to her in person. She felt terrible knowing that she could very well ruin the sweet girl's day.

She hears a light knock, then two more, on her door and she flies over to open it.

"Ellie, hey!" Carly smiles, trying to hide her emotions.

"Hey Ellie Jelly." Sam calls from the beanbag.

Ellie walks over and plops into a beanbag, and looks around amused. Sam stares at her strangely, and it was really only near the end of the pregnancy that Sam took an actual liking to Ellie. Now the three of them were close friends, and Carly and Sam had felt like Ellie fit right in.

"Wow, it feels so different being in here! It's been awhile and i'm not pregnant anymore! It just feels so, strange." She mutters in awe.

Carly smiles and plops into the empty chair between Sam and Ellie. It hurt Carly knowing that in just a few minutes, Ellie's world would be turned upside down.

"Um.. So how's the kid?" Sam asks trying to stall, while Carly silently and nervously looks around, trying to figure out where to start.

"Good; The parents, Carla and Benji send lots of pictures. And the other week…"

"Ellie, I'm sorry!" Carly bursts out.

Ellie, caught off guard, stares intensely at Carly as Sam looks away, awkwardly lowering her head and blowing air out of her cheeks.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Ellie finally murmurs.

"Ellie, we can't take you in this summer. The social worker said that in order to do so, you're current foster parents must sign away rights, until you turn eighteen. I'm truly sorry Ellie."

Ellie looks away and sniffles, as the tears sting the back of her eyes. But compared to everything she had been through, she realized this wasn't the end. So she bit her cheeks, and wiped her eyes on her sleeves, then turns to look at Carly, taking Carly's hands in hers.

"Carly, that's not what i'm upset about. Honestly I would be happy anywhere i'm placed. And I appreciate you not wanting to tell me because you thought it would hurt me. But believe me, compared to everything else, this is just the icing on the cake! Carly, what scares me most is not finding a home, and right now it's unsure. But I do know for a fact that my Social worker, Marissa Benson, said that she's working real hard and that she even has a room for rent, though she doesn't know if that's technically legal." She assures her.

"Wait- Did you say Benson? As in, Marissa Benson?" Sam interrupts her.

"Oh my gosh! That's Freddie's mom!" Carly exclaims.

Ellie obviously confused, clears her throat.

"Mrs. Benson is Freddie's mom! The lady I talked to and thought was your social worker was named Margaret!" Carly clears up for her.

"Oh, her? No, she's so prissy! She's an uptight old lady that abides by all the little rules, but Freddie's mom bend's things here and there for us." Ellie informs her.

"Freddie's mom? Not possible! She's got to be just a distant relative or something because there's no way Mrs. Benson would break the rules!" Sam exclaims in disbelief.

Sam and Ellie keep going on about it, as Carly looks down at her phone and notices a new message from Freddie.

" _My Mom's crazy, but she sure does know how to pull a few strings. She never lets her craziness get in the way of helping others."_ It reads.

Carly looks up and smiles, feeling the tension leave her body, and relaxes, and it was then she realized how in love with Freddie she really was.

" _You're incredible!"_ She replies.

 **xxx**

" _What are you reading?" Freddie curiously observes as he walks into Carly's room._

" _Some pregnancy book your mother got me. Uh, 'Loving your pregnant self?', I think."_

" _My mother got that for you? Why?"_

" _She says if we're gonna keep the baby we need to be informed about the dangerous infections and things that happen during my pregnancy and childbirth."_

 _Freddie rolls his eyes, and sit next to Carly on her bedroom couch. He scoots in for a better look and points to something on the next page. Carly groans and Freddie smirks._

" _So, shouldn't we be looking for names too? I brought up a book from my baby box." Freddie shakes his book to catch her attention and she pushes it back._

" _Tender breasts and whitish fluids?!" She exclaims disgusted, secretly kneading her breasts to examine for tenderness._

" _Maybe you should put that down." Freddie suggests, and takes the book from Carly, tossing it onto the table in front of them._

 _Carly grabs the baby book from Freddie and flips it open to a random page._

" _What kind of names are we looking for?" Freddie asks._

" _I don't know, maybe traditional?" She suggests._

" _How about ham?" Sam calls from the door._

" _Ham isn't traditional!" Freddie shouts back, turning to look at Sam in disbelief._

 _"Your head's full of Ham." She retorts._

" _Besides, it is at Christmas time! And you two seem to have forgotten that you promised me some three months ago!" She snaps back._

" _We'll buy you some as a gift from the baby when she's born. But right now can you at least help up look for a name? Or read this book and inform me about it later." Carly says, tossing her the book Mrs. Benson got her, and Sam stares at it in disgust._

" _How about Shelley?" Freddie looks up from the baby name book._

" _Shelley Shay?" Carly implies._

" _Wouldn't it be Shelley Benson?" Freddie asks._

" _Um, let's skip that name." Carly adds, avoiding the questions._

" _Oh, what about Lacy or...Eloise? That's traditional, right?" Carly points to the page._

" _No, they're too, plain."_

" _They're pretty names!"_

" _Okay, but pretty doesn't matter! We need a name that will stick with our daughter the rest of her life!" Freddie informs her._

 _Frustrated, Carly grabs the book and throws it on the table._

" _Freddie, we have two months to decide on a name! How can this be so hard?"_

" _Okay, but if we keep shutting down each other's ideas, we're never gonna get anywhere."_

" _Here's the deal: You go home and look for and make a list of names you like, and I'll do the same. Then we'll compare and cross off names we both hate, and write down a list of names we both can agree on to choose from."_

" _And if we don't like any of our names?"_

" _Then we let our iCarly viewers vote."_

" _And the loser has to eat the placenta!" Sam looks up, satisfied with her suggestion._

" _Gross!" Freddie mutters as Carly and Sam exchange mischievous smiles._

 **XXX**

"Carly? Carly, i'm here; I got your message!" Freddie shouts as he storms into her apartment.

"Over here Freddie!" She calls to him from the kitchen.

He walks over and takes a seat at the table, and Megan climbs onto his lap, as Freddie wraps his arms around the child.

Carly sits down and slides over an abundance of paperwork and Freddie stares in confusion.

"Uh…" He begins to stutter.

"Applications for our marriage license." She smirks at him.

"Wow! We can apply for one now? I won't be eighteen until November!"

"Right! But we can get married then! We don't have to have Spencer and your mom sign them and we don't need to bring them in until November! We can get married then."

"Carls, this is amazing! How'd you figure this out?"

"It's a bit backwards, but Ellie helped me out a bit. So what do you say?"

He reaches over and grabs her hands, smiling brightly.

"What do you think Megs?" He asks the toddler and she smiles up at him.


	9. Chapter 9

" _Well Carly, it looks like you're dilated to a centimeter." The nurse informs her._

" _What?!" Freddie panics and Carly squeezes his hand nervously._

" _Don't worry. Expectant mothers can be dilated a centimeter for up to a month before the baby's actually due. So don't worry unless her water breaks before then. But everything's looking good so I'll see you next week!"_

 _The nurse throws her gloves in the trash as she leaves the room and Freddie and Carly anxiously smiles at each other._

" _Wow." Freddie mutters under his breath._

" _Yeah, that's so… scary." She groans._

 _Carly and Freddie return home and walk through the front door, finding Spencer on the couch and Sam in the kitchen._

" _Hey kiddos! What did the doctor say?" Spencer asks curiously._

" _I'm dilated to a centimeter!" Carly exclaims._

" _But the doctor said it could be another month, even if the baby is dropped into the pelvis." Freddie infers and Carly groans uncomfortably at the thought._

" _Hey! Did you know that when you're fully dilated, that your cervix is the size of a bagel?" Sam comes in from the kitchen and amusingly watches the terrified expression form on her friend's face._

 _"Ow." Carly groans in discomfort of the conversation._

" _Sam, that wasn't nice." Spencer looks at her, trying to contain his laughter._

 _"But it was so easy." Sam mumbles, smirking to herself._

" _You guys… people have been giving me trouble at school already, so i'd appreciate if you'd lay off the teasing, alright?" Carly moans._

" _I'm sorry kid, but what did you expect them to do? Throw you a parade for being the first and only junior at Ridge Way to get pregnant?" He asks sarcastically, with a hint of sympathy._

" _No…" She mumbles as she leans into Spencer on the couch and he puts his arm around her._

 **XXX**

The doorbell rings and Carly, her lap being occupied by a stray cat Spencer brought home accidentally earlier that day, was slow to get up and answer, but figuring it was Sam, and that she'd barge in at any second, she didn't say anything.

"Hey Carls!" Sam says as she drops the chain she had just broken off their front door.

" _Told you."_ She thought to herself.

"Hey Sam! It's early! Why are you up, and more importantly, here?"

Sam walks over and drops the chain into Carly's hand, and points to the Cat occupying her lap.

"What's that?" She asks.

"Spencer brought it home. So tell me why you're here, and also why you felt the need to break the chain off the door when you knew we'd still be home?"

"I have something important to tell you." She warns her, plopping a newspaper article on Carly's lap.

"What's this?" Carly asks amused.

"Just read it!" Sam pushes.

Carly lifts the paper to eye level and begins reading the title, first silently, then again, repeat the terrifying title out loud.

"City defunds and closes adoption agency and Social offices? Oh my gosh!" She repeats.

"I know! Mrs. Benson is gonna lose her job!"

"Which means she can't help Ellie!"

Before Carly can respond, her doorbell rings again and Sam watches from the couch as Carly swings the door open to reveal a tearful Ellie, a small duffle bag in her left hand and her phone in her right. Her hair lay flat against her rounded face, water dripping off the tips of her damp hair from the light mist of the seattle rain shower outside.

"Ellie?" Carly asks surprised as she pulls the small brunette into the apartment and walks to the kitchen to grab a towel.

"They.. they can't help me anymore and I'll have nowhere to go!" She mutters, bursting into tears as she drops her bag and collapses into the armchair by the door, burying her face into the arm.

 **XXX**

 _Waiting for the baby felt like the most nerve wracking experience Carly had ever faced. Playing the waiting game was never fun for her, even as a child waiting for Spencer to return from the smoothie, being patient was never fun and was something she had learned to be over time. Now, at every little kick, or anything close to a contraction she thought she had felt, She would jump to the conclusion and startle herself. It became a weary game, and everyone grew tired of the false alarms._

 _After learning that she was having false labor contractions, and when she had real ones, she was assured by the doctor she would know it, Carly felt herself relax a little bit, and tried to focus on her junior finals at the end of the month, just a few days before her baby was due. And to make matters worse, she and Freddie had yet to find a name._

 _Carly walks down the steps of her school, struggling to carry her books while waddling down, and approached her locker, turning the lock and shoving her books in her locker all at once, her moodiness making her more tired and irritable by the day._

 _"Hey Carls, did you-woah!" She stops, noticing the brunette's massive bedhead._

 _"Can you not? I've been up all night peeing and being unable to find a position that is comfortable to sleep in, and once I do, i'm out of breath!" She grumbles._

 _Sam rolls her eyes and looks at her phone, ready to change the subject._

 _"Hey, we have two minutes to get to Mr. Henning's. Can you make it or do you need a fake nurse's slip again."_

 _"No, you can go. I'll catch up with you when I get there." She smirks._

 _Carly bumps into Freddie in the hall and he grabs her arm as he smiles at her without saying a word. She silently whispers 'thank you' to him and he just nods, walking her to her class._

 _Carly shifts uncomfortably on her seat as she struggles to pay any attention to the nature week lesson. Sam notices and nudges her, but Carly just brushes it off._

 _It wasn't until she had a sudden, drawn out cramp, waves of muscles tightening and contracting, that she reached over to Sam and gripped her shoulder, leaning over and breathing deeply to resolve the discomfort._

 _"Ooh." Carly moans as she exhales._

 _"Carls?Are you sure you're okay?" She whispers in order not to draw attention to them._

 _Through gritted teeth, Carly shakes her head, lifting herself off the seat and starting toward the door, before another contraction would hit. As she leaves, Sam scampers behind her, finding Carly leaning against a locker in the hallway, catching her breath, a painful expression spread across her face._

 _"Give me your phone, we're calling Spencer!" Sam demands._

 _"Only since this nine this morning, but they're still pretty far apart. It could be hours before this baby comes." Carly tries to reassure her._

 _"Um, last time I checked, giving birth at school wasn't apart of our graduation requirements." Sam snaps sarcastically out of sheer worry for her friend._

 _It rings for a few times before Spencer picks up._

 _"Hey Carls!" He says surprised._

 _"Hey Spencer, it's Sam. I think Carly's in labor! Meet us at the hospital."_


	10. Chapter 10

Sam and Carly stared at each other, then Ellie in disbelief. Carly, brokenhearted, collapses onto her knees next to Ellie, getting eye level with the small brunette's head, and stroking her hair back to reveal her face. She looks weary, as if she had been crying for hours, rather than minutes, and her face was damp and wrinkled, making her assets look years older than she really was.

"Ellie, we're really sorry. And we tried everything! I don't know how to help you anymore." Carly sobs right along Ellie, and Sam feels herself getting teary eyed, though she refused to let them see her cry.

"No, i'm so dumb for thinking this would work, for thinking anyone would take in a sixteen year old girl. Couples don't usually want teens, they want to adopt babies and that makes it so much harder for us teens to find a permanent home." She mutters through her tears.

"Ellie, that's not true. Anyone in their right mind and with a big heart wouldn't care how old the child was as long as they were looking for a child to love and give a better home to. And fortunately for Maisie, she won't be through foster care because you found her a good home with parents willing to love her no matter what. They're looking for someone to help have a better life, not only just someone to keep company."

"Even though you aren't technically family, and we can't foster you because we're not qualified, you should always feel safe here and we wish you would come here more. You're not a burden to any of us." Spencer chimes in from the kitchen.

"You're a pretty cool kid, Ellie." Sam adds and Ellie blushes.

Suddenly Ellie gets serious and looks at them all.

"So what am I gonna do when my foster parents officially kick me out or don't adopt me? I was technically supposed to move out when Maisie was born, but they're never around anyway to notice where I go. They're kind of just a convenient place to live for now and I can't leave because they have to give up rights, not my biological parents, because I was taken away and they said they want nothing to do with me. But I don't really think I'm the child my foster parents really wanted. I just have way too much baggage attached to me, you know." Ellie sadly reminds them.

Sam, Carly and Spencer all exchange saddened looks but as they all move their glares to Ellie, then back to each other, it became apparent what they could do. And they all smiled together.

 **XXX**

 _Carly lies in her bed, Spencer with a hand doppler in his hand beside her, tracking the baby's heartbeat and watching the rate beat steadily. Carly's labor pains earlier that morning had only been false labor contractions, and the doctor had instructed her to take it easy until the baby was born._

" _Spencer, i'm really sorry." She had said._

 _The doctor had asked Carly to stand, and wrapped a tape measure firmly around her waist and stomach._

" _You're measuring full term, but if you're baby isn't here after forty weeks, we'll schedule for you to be induced, okay?" She informs her assuringly._

 _Carly couldn't stop thinking about how she could go into labor at anytime, expectedly at the same time not. It occurred to her how weird it could be if she was fine one day, not expecting a baby, and the next day contractions could hit and she'd be eventually holding her small child, still without a name, in her arms._

 _She and Freddie were still indecisive on a name, and without their lists, they couldn't hold a contest on iCarly, to vote for their daughter's name, though she knew engaging the viewers in this more personal part of her life would make them feel happy._

 _They were supportive since day one. The day she first told the audience was the same week she had noticed that not only did her clothes not fit right anymore, but that she had a more obvious baby bump._

 _She knew was only a matter of time she would have to tell anyone before rumors spread beyond her control. And if the viewers found out before she could tell them, worse stories could arise, and she did not want anyone gloritizing her pregnancy, or viewing her in the wrong way. So she and Freddie decided together to make an announcement, whether it would disappoint or not. They would either risk losing viewers, or have to cancel iCarly all together for the time being._

' _Before we go, Freddie and I have an announcement to make.' Carly clasped together her hands as she stared into the camera._

' _This outta be interesting to explain.' Sam smirked._

' _Freddie and I wanted to tell you about my pregnancy before any rumors would come out that wouldn't be true. And we fully expect some outrage or disappointment but we decided that we would tell you to explain ourselves,our regrets and accept responsibility, and make sure that we aren't here glorifying teen pregnancy with the wrong impressions. So, we're sorry and we want you to know, together Freddie and I decided adoption was our best bet seeing as we know we can't raise a baby.' She stares at Freddie for approval, then continues._

' _So please show us support by not commenting for us to keep the baby. Because we need all the support we can get through this time. Thanks for watching!' She waved at the camera, then quickly turned before they would see the tears roll down her cheeks._

 _Freddie had patted her on the back and assured her that it would be okay. But that's not how Carly had felt right now, as she lie awake in her bed, staring at the ceiling with her hands on her stomach. She felt the most scared she had felt her entire pregnancy, beside the day she found out, and the terrifying moment she realized that her life wouldn't be the same. It was then she thought that she wished she had saved herself for marriage. But even if mistakes happen, she can't rewind the past. She can only accept the choices she's made and learn from them._

 _Sure enough, like the doctor had predicted, Carly was already forty weeks in with still no labor in sight. She often lay in bed, wondering when the signs of onset labor would show. And she constantly dreamt of the baby she had not yet named, though she and Freddie had got the name list narrowed down to three names they liked; Ruby, Callie, Alice, and the potential names, (all from Freddie) were Evelyn, Vivian, and Megan. But they both decided it would be best to wait for the baby to arrive, for it would be easier to name the child once they knew what name would fit her best._

 _That same night, with Sam passed out on the couch in her room, Carly had rolled over in bed only to feel an overwhelming drizzle of water, then a few drops , wetting her beige sheets, and Carly sat up in the sheer terror of realizing that this was it. It was only a matter of hours before she would give birth after a long, painful and sweaty labor. She sat up and took some deep breaths, shaking in fear as she slid her bunny slippers onto her bare feet. Then she walked over to shake Sam awake, whispering loudly in her ear._

" _Sam? Sam! Wake up! My water just broke; The baby's coming!" She shakes Sam harder._

 _Sam groans and rolls over, staring up in shock and grabs Carly by the shoulders excitedly, and also scared, then stands to grab her coat from the floor, and runs down the stairs, Carly waddling behind her to keep up._

" _Spencer? Carly's in labor!" Sam shouts as she rushes down the stairs._

 _Spencer runs out in nothing but his v-neck and short, cotton, gray shorts, and Carly waddles down the stairs in her bathrobe, and Spencer rushes up the stairs, grabbing Carly around the back and her hands, helping her move faster down the stairs._

" _I've got her bag!" Sam shouts as she tosses it at Spencer and runs across the hall to wake Freddie._

 _Spencer slides her bag on his arm and grabs Carly's left hand with his, placing his right hand behind her and escorts her out behind Sam as she shakes nervously, looking up at Spencer and he nods reassuringly._

" _It's gonna be okay kid." He assures her as she trembles under his arm._

 _Suddenly Carly hears a faint scream from across the hall and Sam runs in, an empty water bottle in hand._

" _I woke Freddie! He'll meet us there." Sam says as she slams the door behind her._

" _I've got the baby." Carly jokingly says as they all leave the building, relieved that she wouldn't have to have an induction._

 **XXX**

 _After almost twenty-six painfully hard and long hours of labor, and an epidural, Carly looked down at her daughter as they laid her on her half bare chest, freshly birthed and crying, a comforting sound to the new mom, knowing that it was over. Their baby was here. Carly's eyes filled, gaping proudly at her child._

 _Their daughter was washed and bundled, then handed to Freddie who was grinning proudly down at the tiny baby, offering his finger for her to grasp. He walked around, bouncing her in his arms, unaware of the loving smile Carly had been watching them with._

 _Spencer had been at her side the entire time, helping her breath through contractions and in between, making her smile with the humor she was so fond of him having, even in the most serious of times, and he would try to make his sister feel better. That was the way it had always been. And though labor was rough, having her brother hold her hand and Freddie waiting on her hand and foot, she felt like there was no one better than family to be there with her._

" _Megan." Carly gaped over at Freddie as he was watching the two of them._

" _Excuse me?" He asked._

" _Megan; She looks like a Megan." Carly repeated._

" _I… I actually couldn't agree more." Freddie gazed at her, and walked over, grabbing Megan from Carly's arms, and unwrapping her from the warmth of the blanket._

" _She even has the Benson patch on her back." He adds amused._

" _Go figure the Benson's would have hair in weird places, you're a bunch of misfits." Sam retorts and Freddie burns her a look._

 _Carly reached over and pulled back the small hat on Megan's head to reveal dark, layer of downy of hair, much like her back and she smiled._

" _So it's settled? Megan Judea Benson?" And Freddie nods at her._


	11. Chapter 11

"When will he be here? Where is he!" Carly asks nervously, pacing the office.

"Carls, sit down! He'll be here soon! Shouldn't we be more worried about where Ellie is?" Sam asks and Spencer shrugs.

Ellie knocks twice, then slowly creeps open the door, staring inside.

"May I come in?" She asks shyly.

"Of course! Are you ready for this?" Carly asks, grabbing Ellie's hand for comfort.

"Well sure, but my parents are really peeved off for people who sure don't seem to care a lot about anything else I do."

"That's not true. Be excited! This is a huge moment for you!" Carly reminds her assuringly.

"Really? The only reason they're coming is to give rights to…"

Ellie gets cut off by a woman in a tight,blue, flight attendant like suit, walking through the door, and Ellie's fosters parents, and some man she's never met, follow behind.

 _"Socko's cousin, Shelter."_ Carly thinks to herself.

"Thanks for coming. Especially on such short notice." Ellie stands to shake the woman's hand.

"Well, when I heard Melissa Benson dropped your case after getting laid off, I knew I had to help. Anyway, Ellie your foster parents and Mr. Homely, are here."

"Hi, I'm Shelter Homely. I'm here to help you as a psychologist on your case and I'll be here so we can talk anytime you feel like you need."He says, firmly shaking Ellie's hand.

"Well, let's get this started, shall we?" Mrs. Ottoman, the tall, dark haired lady encouraged.

 **XXX**

In just a few months Ellie would be released from the system and would become Ellie Winston MacSweeney. Her soon to be new parents, Charles and Molly, were preparing her a space in their small ranch home, while Ellie packed her things, everything she owned fitting into just one duffle bag, and her foster parents demanded that they got to keep the more expensive or important things they bought her, such as the bedspread they bought the year she moved in and all of her hair supplies, like her hair dryer and combs.

Ellie thought that she should feel guilty for leaving. But what she felt was not guilt, but rather relief. The people she had so desperately hoped would adopt her, turned out to be the most selfish and uptight people she had ever met.

"Ellie, it was a good year." Her foster dad mumbled.

"And you're lucky you gave up that baby for adoption. It would only be harder to be officially adopted if we had to find two people a home. Your life would've ended right there if you had kept her." Her foster mother said.

"My life wouldn't have ended! Actually, it would've just began because I could've been a better parent to her than you two could be to me in a lifetime. And I just hope someday my baby feels as loved as I will with my new parents." Ellie argues, feeling tears stinging the back of her eyes.

Her foster dad just had reached over to give her a shy pat on the back, and her foster mom had only wrapped her in a loose and meaningless hug, no real emotion felt, and Ellie tensed up, holding her arms by her side but not pulling away. It had been a cold, plain and insincere goodbye.

Carly and Spencer agreed to take in Ellie her last few weeks so that she wouldn't have to live with her foster parents, and they agreed with no questions, and the fact that they were so willing to let her leave didn't hurt Ellie. She knew they had wanted a baby, not a teenager from day one, and they've always had slight distaste toward Ellie.

"Ellie?" Carly had called from the kitchen the next day.

"Yeah?" Ellie asked.

"We have to do iCarly in an hour. Would you like to be on it tonight? We're doing the 'Random Chatting' bit tonight."

"Really? Of course!" She responds excitedly.

 **XXX**

" _Spencer!" Carly calls as she walks into the kitchen in her bathrobe, her hair tangled in her face and Megan hoisted up, laying on Carly's shoulder, crying as Carly bounces her up and down._

" _What's wrong kiddo?" He asks concerned._

" _Spencer, i'm tired. I can't do this! This is way harder than I had expected." She whines._

" _Carls, what did you expect? The baby isn't trainable like a dog and you can't turn her off and on! She's only capable of needing your attention right now because she can't do things on her own. She's helpless."_

" _Yeah, but I haven't got sleep in three days and I'm at my wits end! I can't study or read or anything." She complains._

 _Carly bursts into tears as reality sets in. After three nights of no sleep and sore breasts, she was a hormotional mess. Spencer looked at Carly with some sympathy, but stared at her very seriously._

" _I'll warm up some milk. You can go lie down for a bit, i've got this." Spencer offers._

 _Carly unsurely hands Megan to Spencer and sulks, as she clumsily flops her sore body onto the couch, pulling one of Megan's blankets over her face to drown out the noise, and fell asleep knowing that Megan was in good hands._


	12. Chapter 12

Carly and Freddie had felt exhausted and fell onto Carly's bed after the small and quick ceremony they had on their week off of school for Thanksgiving. Carly turned her head to smile and Freddie, and rolled into him, snugly nesting herself into his arms and resting her head on his chest. Megan lay beside her, snuggled beneath her mother's arms, still lying in her little pink cardigan with her flowy tank top and her little uggs, kicked off beside her.

Carly had felt pleased with the idea that they were officially a little family, and that Carly, not just Megan, had adopted Freddie's last name. _Carly Benson._ She still had to get used to the feeling of it rolling off of her tongue, but none the less did it sound perfect.

It was in her bed, with Freddie and her daughter beside her, that she reflected on how much things change in a matter of years. And she realized she hadn't been that exhausted since the night she cried herself to sleep, the same day she had found out she was pregnant. Emotionally, she had felt everything flow out of her.

 _Carly had laid face down in her bed, her pillow an involuntary sponge for all her tears. She had heard a knock at her door, and sat up, realizing that Sam was still there, and Carly still hadn't come out of her room like she promised she would after taking a shower._

" _Yeah Sam?" She called, face still buried into her pillow._

" _Carly, we need to talk." She says as she opens the door and walks in, kicking it shut behind her._

 _Carly rolls over and props her pillow against the wall, sitting up as Sam plops down beside her feet, staring intensely at her. Carly runs her sleeve across her face to hide any excess tears, and sniffles._

 _Unknowing of what Sam was up to while she was in the shower, Sam had actually searched through Carly's trash, pleasingly finding what she had hoped for proof to consult Carly against Spencer's wishes._

" _Carls, can we talk about this?" She asks as she tosses the pregnancy test unto the bed."_

" _Oh my gosh, you went through my trash?" Carly asks shocked and somewhat disgusted._

" _Not important. Carls, you're really pregnant?"_

" _Do you know everything?" Carly asks with slight amusement in her hoarse voice._

" _No, you puked after you smelled red velvet cupcakes; And you love those! Besides, You wouldn't believe what I found in my mom's bathroom and bedroom." Sam grins._

" _Oh, I bet I would." Carly responds sarcastically._

" _Fifteen old pictures of her-" Sam begins._

" _I don't want to know." Carly interrupts and assures her , looking away._

 _Sam smirks and Carly looks back at her, all seriousness in her expression._

" _Sam, I don't know what I should do. Adoption?"_

" _You'll figure it out, you're a smart girl. Maybe you should be more worried about what you're gonna tell Spencer and everyone else."_

" _Sam, promise me you won't tell Spencer I told you."_

" _You didn't. I figured it out." Sam reminds her._

" _Either way, let me figure out how I'm gonna tell him. Promise?" She begs her and Sam reluctantly nods her head._

But nothing compared to the day Carly gave birth, as one of the most hormotional and eventful, tiresome days of her life, as Carly wearly held the tiny infant to her chest. But the day didn't exactly start out the best, the minute she knew she was in labor.

 _Carly anxiously watched as the nurses had pricked a needle through her skin, inserting the IV and another wrapping a band around her waist to monitor the baby as she laid back._

 _The room had smelled of sanitizer, and was filled with everything for after the baby arrived. Forceps, gloves, face masks, scissors, some strange, bulb shaped, rubber squeezy thing, and a small plastic basket they would place her in beside Carly to sleep. The basket contained a receiving blanket and a small hat, pink, though she had assured the nurse that white would be just fine. All that was left was to wait._

 _The contractions, like Carly had expected, intensified by the hour, each set being more painful than the last, and Carly held tightly to Spencer's hand, squeezing it until he lost all feeling. Carly had rolled over to her side, hugging her pillow to her face, as she had tried to breath through a contraction while Spencer helplessly watched her, unable to talk as she moaned in pain._

 _It was from the point when Carly reached her goal of six centimeters, that she had begged against all previous wishes and fears that they would administer an epidural._

 _Carly sat up, holding a pillow in her lap, and leaning forward and resting into Spencer as he held her shoulders and Freddie watched nervously from the corner. Carly was advised not to move, as it could paralyze her, and she shivered, the cold iodine being rubbed on her exposed back, where the gown split open, and the prick of a needle, as a long burning sensation took place._

 _Twenty minutes after the last needle was pushed in and an IV was inserted into her back and taped down, Carly laid back, painlessly looking around as she watched the minutes tick by, wondering about the time that would be on the clock as her little girl arrived. It felt like it would be forever, and Carly had heard how epidurals sometimes could slow down labor. The idea of being in labor longer than she had already been terrified her, and the thought of being able to not have any control over pushing scared her._

 _But soon her fears were relieved and after hours of walking to get things moving before the epidural, she had given birth to (in her own biased opinion) the most perfect child, screaming in her arms as she was held to Carly's chest._

And now a month after her wedding took place, Carly stood in her room beside Freddie, holding him close as she stared blankly at the same positive symbol that had changed her life almost two years before.


End file.
